Sen. Manchin Wants ‘Transitional Year’ for Health Law

Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) on Sunday said 2014 should be a “transitional year” for the Affordable Care Act, allowing consumers and insurers time to work out kinks in the system without any penalties.

Monday night is the deadline to sign up for insurance that can take effect on Jan. 1. The final deadline for 2014 enrollment is March 31. So far, the program has been plagued by technical issues and a continuing political debate on the merits of the law.

“I’m not worried about the glitches, computer glitches,” Mr. Manchin said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We’ll fix that sooner or later. I’m worried about having a product that the market will buy. And we’re not letting people shop.”

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